'Excited' Mark Lowry Eager For The 2017 Season

Photo credit: Todd Drexler/Jacksonville Armada FC

Jacksonville Armada FC finished the 2016 season in thrilling fashion, with a comeback victory in front of its home support. The excitement of the 3-2 win over Tampa Bay and the positives from the end of the year have carried over into the offseason as the club looks towards 2017.

“We can’t wait,” Jacksonville coach Mark Lowry told NASL.com. “We say it every day. We just can’t wait to kick off preseason with a fresh, hungry, and excited group of players, and we’re close to having the group that we want.

“There’s definitely an excitement around the place and, from a coaching standpoint, we’re eager to get back on the field.”

The club has already begun shaping its roster, retaining several key players including Tyler Ruthven, Mechack Jérôme, Jemal Johnson, and Charles Eloundou.

Lowry, who enters his first full season as head coach after being awarded the position on Oct. 4, has his system in place and now it’s about filling out the roster with pieces that fit.

Lowry noted that the style of play seen at the end of the past season is here to stay.

“The system comes first for us,” he said. “We know our system and that will always be the case. We firmly believe that’s the right way to do it.

“We know how we want to play and we believe that the way we want to play is the right way and can bring success and entertainment. We’re very comfortable with that.”

Another focal point of the offseason will be adding more young and exciting talent, similar to Eloundou from a year ago. The Cameroonian international was dynamic for Jacksonville and finished tied with Alhassane Keita as the team's leading scorer with six goals.

“Charles’ game, the way he was playing, evolved and developed in the last 10-15 games of the season and he was able to execute his plays and finish his plays off and he was rewarded with goals and good performances,” Lowry said.

“There’s a handful of other players like that. We believe in young players. We’ve got a couple already in our group. We’re looking to bring more in as well. We see a lot of value in having young hungry players that have the energy and the ability.”

Lowry also feels forward Derek Gebhard and midfielder Danny Barrow could also make strides in the upcoming campaign. Gebhard drew a penalty against Rayo OKC and then assisted on Zach Steinberger’s game-winning goal in the last game of the year.

“Derek Gebhard, we saw him for 10 minutes here or there, but when he came on he made an impact,” Lowry said. “The next step for Derek is if he can start increasing his minutes.”

For Barrow, it’s about shaking off some injury issues that hampered the electric youngster’s first season in Jacksonville.

“Danny Barrow had an up-and-down season, but it’ll be good to see him get consistency.”

Wanting to blend the young talent with the more experienced core already in place, Lowry has been working quickly to build out the roster, which he expects to be mostly completed shortly.

“We don’t want to waste any time,” he said. “We addressed our needs and recognized our needs pretty quickly and now it’s just the case of finding the right players to do the job.

"We’re probably ahead of the game slightly in terms of timeline with the group we have and identifying players to come in. Over the next few weeks that should be finalized and we can focus on preparing for preseason - the training aspect, the learning aspect and teaching the players the system.”

Once everything is in place and the team returns to competitive action to kick off the 2017 season, Lowry is hoping the excitement from the final games of this past season carry over in the new year.

“If we could’ve scripted out the perfect end, it wouldn’t have looked much different than it turned out,” Lowry said. “It’s one thing to believe you’re playing well, but to get the results helps the momentum going into next season.”